Contractors commit to meeting Medupi deadlines

A site visit led by Public Enterprises Minister MalusiGigaba, Eskom chairperson, Zola Tsotsiand Eskom CEO,Brian Dames last Thursday revealed plans to renegotiate the project labour agreement (PLA) at the Medupi building site.
Plans are to replace the current PLA with a “partnering arrangement”, which should be in place by the end of May. The agreement is part of a broader commitment to the delivery of first power from Medupi’s Unit 6, by December. Gigaba also met several concerned parties, including unions and construction management on Thursday morning ahead of the inspection.
At a media briefing Gigaba said that contractors have signed an agreement not to further delay work at the building site and said that those who contribute to further delays will face severe penalties. He also said that additional measures to ensure that the deadline is met might result in cost overruns which Eskom will resolve through remedies provided for in the contracts. These measures include seven-day work weeks; two shifts a day, and additional senior project management and technical staff.
He also spoke about the “enormous risks” involved should unit 6 not deliver power to the South African electricity grid come December.  These he said related to the building of crucial infrastructure, as well as risks to the reputation of the country.
The site visit and inspection was also attended by Eskom board members, several senior executives, as well as Hitachi Power Africa chairperson,Colin Bailey and Alstom Thermal Power president,Philippe Coche. Cochereiterated Alstom’s commitment to South Africa and to delivering its commitments for the Medupi project.
“Alstom is part of the solution to the Medupi project and to the entire future power capacity of South Africa. We are not part of the problem. We are delivering everything we have promised to do and our technology will perform as expected. And we will do so on time,” he said.
Alstom’s contract requires the delivery and installation of turbines for the plant and toprovide state-of-the-art control & instrumentation systems. Coche said that the specialist workforce on site is being doubled to meet the delivery schedule.